Car-axle lubricator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets -Sheet 1.

A. P. MITCHELL. CAR AXLE LUBRIGATOR.

No. 461,151. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

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A. P. MITCHELL.

GAR AXLE LUBRIGATOR.

Patented Oct. 13,1891.

Ina/sham": Q ZZM/ y/Za'wz 3 $4 d W L UNITED STATES PATENT OFEIUE.

AUGUSTUS P. MITCHELL, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO JAMES E. MOELROY AND RICHARD L. ORESOY, BOTH OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR-AXLE LUBRlCATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,151, dated October 13, 1891.

Application filed January 19, 1891. Serial No. 378,207- No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, AUGUSTUS P. MITCHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Mlnnesot-a, have in vented certain new' and use ful Improvements in RailWay-Oar-Axle Lubricators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made apart hereof, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of one of the improved lubricators applied to a railway-car axle, the latter and the journal-box being shown in transverse section. Fig. 2 is a vertlcal section of one of the improved lubricators of slightly-modified construction applied to a 'railway-car-axle, the latter being shown 1n side elevation and the j ournal-box in longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under side of the journal-bearing. Fig. dis a side elevation of a train of railway-cars (in outline) equipped with the improved lubricators. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the trucks of a railway-car equipped with the improved lubricator in connection with an air-brake system.

The object of the present invention is to dispense with the use of waste in lubricating car-axles and to provide a lubricator under the absolute control of the engineer, by which oil can at any time be projected onto the j ournals, so as to thoroughly lubricate them.

A further object of the invention is to enable the engineer or other attendant to thus lubricate all the journals of an entire railway-train or other system at one operation by the use of fluid under pressure conducted to the several lubricators of the system through suitably-arranged pipes. I

A further object of the invention is to utilize the air-brake system of a railway-train for operating all the lubricators of the train.

To these ends the invention consists of certain features of novelty, that are particularly pointed out in the claims hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the journal, B the journal-bearing, O the journalbearing key, and D the journal-box, all of which may be of any desired construction. Secured upon the top of the journal-box is an oilcup E, from the bottom of which a drip-pipe 6 projects downward through the top of the box, through the key, and into an elongated opening 1), cut through the bearing near its outer end. WVith the top of this oil-cup communicates a supply-pipe F, whiohhas the necessary bends and joints and communicates with one of the horizontal branches 9 of a T G, the vertical branch g of which is screwed into the bottom of the journal-box, so as to communicate with the interior thereof. In this T is a valve H, which seats outward against a seat formed for it in or at the inner extremity of the vertical branch g. Normally this valve is held off of its seat by gravity, (or a spring,) so that oil poured into'the j ournal-box may flow freely into and fill the T and the adjacent portions of the pipes communicating therewith; but when fluid under pressure is admitted to the pipe I, which connects with the second horizontal branch g of the T, the upward pressure upon the valve causesit to seat, thereby cutting off communication between the branch g and the lower part of the journal-box and compelling the oil to flow through pipe F into oil-cup E, whence it escapes through drip-pipe e onto the top side of the journal. The openingb of the j ournalbearing is elongated, so that its lateral movement will not be interfered with, and its under or wearing face is provided with grooves b, through which the oil travels and reaches all parts of the journal. The vertical branch g of the T projects slightly above the bottom of the box, so that grit and other foreign substances that sink to the bottom will not enter it and be carried up to the journal.

The form of the invention shown in Fig. 2 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 only in that,

instead of the T of the form shown in Fig. 1,

the form shown in Fig. 2 has a simple box J, situated in the journ al-box and secured to the bottom thereof beneath the journal. This box has in its top an opening j, and surrounding this opening is a hopper j for catching the oil as it drips from the journal and directing it into the box. The T of Fig.1 and the box J of Fig. 2 are, however, equivalents, in that they are both receptacles having open ings for receiving the oil that drips fromthe journal; and, furthermore, they have equivalent acce'ssories-mamely, a valve for closing said opening, a pipe for admitting fluid under pressure, and a pipe for conveying oil therefrom to the journal t-o'be lubricated. In Fig. 2 the hinged valve I-Icloses the opening j the instant fluid under pressure is admitted to the box J, and the resultsthat follow are precisely the same as those that follow the closparticular arrangement of the pipes for conveying it to the several lubricators of a system are matters which may be left to convenience and the exigencies of particular cases. In Fig. 4 Ihave shown arailway-train equipped with the improved lubricators, the fluid-pressure pipe I of each lubricator being connected with a supply-pipe K beneatheach car, the pipes K of the several cars being coupled together by detachable couplings, similar in construction to those used for coupling the train-pipes of an air-brake system. The forward end of the system of pipes K communicates with a pressure-fluid reservoir L, which may bekept pressure-fluid to the train-pipe at any time,- and thereby throw oil onto the tops of the journals in the manner already described. Or, instead of having a separate systenr of pipes, &c., for supplying the lubricators with fluid-pressure, the customary air-brake system may be tapped at any convenient place and the pipes I suitably connected thereto. In Fig. 5 I have shown the air-brake system tapped between the auxiliaryreservoirN and the brake-cylinder O, and a pipe P communicating therewith and having suitable branches,withwhichthepipesIcommunicate. By this means each time air is admitted to the brake-cylinder for applying the brakes it is also admitted to the lubricators and a supply of oil forced up to the oil-cups E in the manner already described. Less pressure is of course required for operating the lubricators than for operating the brakes, and in order to avoid an injurious excess of pressure in the lubricator system the pipe P may be provided with a needle-valve for regulating its capacity, or the same result may be obtained by employing a pipe having a bore of just the necessary capacity.

I have shown and described my improved lubricator system as applied to a train of railway-cars; but it is obvious that it may be applied to any system of journals requiring lubrication.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desireto secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a lubricator, the combination, with a receptacle for receiving the oil that drips from the journal, of a source of fluid-pressure, a pipe leading therefrom and communicating with said oil-receptacle, whereby fluid under pressure may be admitted to said receptacle for expelling the oil therefrom, and a second pipe communicating with said receptacle for conveying the oil to the journal, substantially as set forth.

2. In a lubricator, the combination, with a receptacle having an opening for receiving the oil that drips from the journal, of a valve for closing said opening, a .source of fluidpressure, a pipe leading therefrom and communicating with said oil-receptacle, whereby fluid under pressure may be admitted to said receptacle for expelling the oil therefrom, and i a second pipe communicating with said receptacle for conveying the oil to the journal, substantially as set forth.-

3. In a lubricator, the combination, with a receptacle having an opening forreceiving the oil that drips from the journal, of avalve i for closing said opening, an oil cup situated above the journal and having a drip-pipe leading thereto, a pipe communicating with said receptacle and discharging into the oilcup, and a source of fluid-pressure also communicating with the receptacle, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the journal and the journal-bearing having grooves in its under surface for distributing the oil over the entire surface of the journal, of a receptacle having an opening for receiving the oil that drips from the journal, a pipe communicating with said receptacle and extending above the journal-bearing, a source of fluid-pressure, and asecond pipe leading therefrom and communicating with said receptacle, the journal-bearing being provided with an opening for the passage of oil to the journal, substantially as set forth.

v 5. The combination, with a plurality of journals, of a lubricator applied to each, each of said lubricators having a receptacle for receiving the oil that drips from the journal, and a pipe communicating with said receptacle for conveying the oil back to the jour nal, a source of fluid-pressure, pipes leading therefrom and communicating with the oilreceptacles of all of said lubricators, and a valve for controlling the supply of fluid-pressure to said receptacles, substantially as set with fluid-pressure, and a valve whereby the admission of said fluid-pressure to said receptacles is controlled, substantially as set forth. 7

7. The combination, with a railway-car and an air-brake apparatus applied thereto, of receptacles for receiving the oil that drips from thejournals, pipes communicating with said receptacles for conveying the oil back to the journals, and a second set of pipes communieating with said receptacles and with the airbrake system, whereby fluid-pressure may be admitted to said receptacles for expelling the oil therefrom and flooding the journals, substantially as set forth. 1

AUGUSTUS P. MITCHELL. Witnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, J. B. HALPENNY. 

